This being the 250th year of birth of the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar, I spend a lot of time pondering over, researching, and writing on his life. Not that there is any fresh ground on offer but when read in the context of his era, there is a lot to look into. And what I find, I write for Sruti, the magazine dedicated to the arts.
Knowing the real Dikshitar
My latest had to do with Dikshitar’s stay in Madras, roughly between 1792 and 1795. His father had moved here en famille owing to an invitation from Manali Muthukrishna Mudali, Dubash (interpreter) to Governor George Pigot. It was this Dubash it will be recalled, who built the Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple in the 1770s at its present location and added a Chenna Malleeswarasawami Temple by its side.
Just as the article went to press, Sukanya Shankar, who runs Sruti, called to ask if I had any pictures of Muthukrishna Mudali. Enquiries with the Manali family too drew a blank and then I recalled that there are several impressive figures carved onto the pillars of the Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple with their names inscribed above or below, some in Telugu and others in Tamil. Could one of these be him?
Was everyone a dubash in good old Madras?
